In which Scots are comic relief and snow is the most effective matchmaker

The Lady Most Willing by Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, Connie Brockway

The Lady Most Willing is a 3-for-1 romance brought to you by kidnapping, drafty Scottish castles, and a really egregious plot strumpet*. The charmingly flimsy plot is this: a batty laird wants so much to ensure the succession of his drafty Scottish castle that he kidnaps the most eligible local women during a storm — ensuring their being sufficiently trapped in the castle — with the intention of presenting them to his nephew(? It’s been a few weeks; I forget.) The complications are these: 1) His nephew is a Comte of questionable means and title; 2) in residence also is another nephew (? I’m really sorry about this) who is stuffy in general and morally outraged at this turn of events; 3) the kidnappers accidentally kidnapped a Duke when they liberated his carriage for use in the kidnapping, thereby introducing another eligible gentleman into the mix; 4) the kidnappers accidentally kidnapped a local non-gentlewoman, and the drafty castle isn’t quite big enough for all of its newest occupants, even temporarily.

Here are the players (I remind you that I fell behind on my reviews and while I’m pretty sure the names are correct, I don’t remember the proper titles):

Is it terribly unsporting to reveal that some combination of these people end up together? Well, I’ll leave you to find out precisely who goes with whom. I did say this was a 3-for-1; only three of the stories are actually detailed and one of them is a surprise reveal at the end. (Bonus spoiler: it’s the plot strumpet. Sorry.) Considering that each is a very short insta-love novella, this book is actually very charming all together. One thing I would advise, should you choose to read this: do not get the audiobook. The narrator, to be fair, really gives it her all, but it’s a lot to ask of one person to do voices for at least eight principal characters, four of whom are men of varying levels of gruff and Scot-ness. Aside from that, though, I have to recommend this book as quite the pleasant diversion.

* I am feeling very clever and so I’m going to claim first usage of this term, which I am using to describe a woman who acts so discomfitingly thirsty as to advance the plot by driving the two romantic leads away from her and into the arms of each other.

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